Are you feeling in desperate need of some relaxation at the end of a long day? Unwinding takes many different forms. Some folks like a glass of wine, others a hot tub, others a good dinner while others enjoy their music. For an interesting change, try using Soundscape which takes the sound recorded by the microphone and converts it into a visual format. It has a very hypnotic and appealing affect on your vision and hearing senses. Music player controls are included so you can play tracks from your iPod library. Some of the unique features of Soundscape are as follows:

- 3 different visualization modes. Double tap the center of the screen to switch between them.

- Double touch the screen to display the options menu. For best results, use the microphone sensitivity bar to get rid of unwanted sounds.

- The music player will play the songs in your current playlist. When it reaches the end of your playlist it will begin at the start of your entire music library.

- Built in Byron Bay using OpenFrameworks.

Do not use headphones while using Soundscape as the microphone will not be able to pick up the sounds of the music. The generation of the background "scapes" are dependent on the music coming through the speakers. Enjoy vibrant colors and a myriad of transforming shapes as your music plays in this music and design app.

COOL CONCLUSION: "Soundscape is visually appealing and entrancing as the designs blossom and change before your eyes to the beat of the music."

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

Fun Stuff - Word of The Day: monitor pets - The little trinkets, mementos and toys that decorate one's computer monitor. Objects that are imbued with spiritual or superstitious significance are also referred to as "monitor juju." They make life in a cube more manageable.

January 30, 2011

Many of us are really good at some things, but not all. For instance, you may be a whiz with electronics, woodworking, fixing cars, or lawn design. But it's rare to be accomplished in all areas of life. You probably just don't have the knowledge you need to accomplish specific tasks. However, with uncountable helpful articles in the palm of your hand, eHow can be your assistant at explaining how to do everyday tasks ranging from chores around the house to managing personal finances. It takes a couple taps to search and find your answers so you can tackle that project right away! Some of the noteworthy features of eHow are as follows:

Open this self-help app to tabs including: Featured, Search, Food, Home and More. Featured shows you specially selected "How To" items that may interest you. Search is the field for which you want to enter your task terms. Food educates you as to many methods of food preparation, cleaning and serving. Finally, More gives you many popular category items such as: Family, Health, Money, Style, and also includes Favorites and Settings. eHow contains a wealth of information that will educate and assist you in all the gray areas of your life where you need a little assistance without undergoing too much trouble.

COOL CONCLUSION: "Make life easier on yourself by using eHow to give detailed instructions with pictures on 'how to' accomplish a myriad of tasks!"

If you're like me, you probably shove receipts in your wallet or pocket while you're out during the day. By the time you get home, it's way too late to start sifting through and organizing receipts (which would really be helpful to you later!) So the receipts get dumped in a drawer or on a shelf. Come annual tax time, or monthly reconcile the credit card bill time, you are totally confused as to the location of the receipts, if they have not ended up in the garbage by now. Use Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker and Receipt Reader to organize your bills so you are ready for tax time so that tax preparation will not be such a headache. Some of the features of Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker are as follows:

Your opening screen on this receipt organizer app will prompt you to log in to your Shoeboxed Account or Register for Free (which is what I did). There are 3 buttons at the bottom to Email Report, Add New Receipt and Account Settings. Tap Add New Receipt to begin and the camera will open for you to snap your receipt. Once that's done, a note field appears where you enter your memory-jogging notes on that particular item, then press Submit. The screen will now show the calendar date of your new receipt and your note. It's all that simple with Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker to organize your bills to make your finances and taxes stress free!

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

Fun Stuff - Word of The Day: mouselexia - The inability to use a mouse correctly. Some people are naturally "mouselexic," while others are struck with mouselexia only when an IT guru is looking over their shoulder.

Shutter bugs and pranksters, this one is for you! You probably have a ton of pics of your family, friends and acquaintances. That's very sweet and admirable, but why not turn those bland pics into something a little more mischievous? You can add all sorts of props and looks to change your photo subjects into something really noticeable when you use Xtreme Makeover. Unleash the true persona of your friends, kids, parents, relatives and office cohorts! Upload and share your creative makeovers directly to Facebook and Twitter, or send via email. Some of the enjoyable and creative features of Xtreme Makeover are as follows:

Open Xtreme Makeover and select between either Live (snap a pic) or Photo Album (choose from your library). Options you may choose from include Hair Style, Sunglasses and Dress/Shirt (for either women or men). Once you select your photo, choose either Male or Female options and start to dress them in whichever style you desire. Rotate and flip your objects to get them to fit just right. You have a lot of wiggle room here. Finished your naughty creation? Hit Share to decide who shall see the finished results! Yes, this photo effects app is a lot of free fun for all!

COOL CONCLUSION: "See a whole new side of those you spend the most time with by adding a bit of fun, color and mischief to their photos with Xtreme Makeover."

You know what it's like when you are looking for important notes or lists from yesterday's meeting only to find it's on your laptop in another location. You're stretched for time and can not get those notes which is going to cause a big problem with the boss (be it your at home boss, or at work boss!) That's where Microsoft OneNote comes in so handy. It lets you create and view notes and lists whenever you need them. Sync your notes with free Windows Live online storage and access them from virtually anywhere using your phone, PC, or almost any web browser. Here are some of the useful and convenient features of Microsoft OneNote:

▪ Create flexible notes that can include text, pictures, bullets, and checkboxes
▪ Check To Do items off on the go
▪ Save time with quick access to your most recent notes
▪ OneNote Mobile automatically syncs your notes with Windows Live in the background
▪ Organize your notes into sections or create new notebooks using OneNote 2010 or OneNote Web App and access them from your iPhone

Requirements for effective use of this Microsoft OneNote are as follows:

▪ iPhone or iPod touch must have iOS 4.2 or higher
▪ A free Windows Live ID is required to use OneNote Mobile —use an existing one or let OneNote Mobile help you sign up
▪ Web functionality uses the free OneNote Web App available on Windows Live, which requires a supported web browser
▪ OneNote Mobile opens notebooks created in Microsoft OneNote 2010 or the OneNote Web App
▪ Customizing section colors requires Microsoft OneNote 2010

It takes a couple minutes to log in using your existing Windows Live ID. Otherwise, you can quickly create a new ID in the app. Your screen will then show 4 buttons at the bottom: Recent, Quick Note, Camera and Settings. Tap Quick Note to start a new note. Tap the camera if you wish to insert a picture. Use the bullets feature if you want to make a handy checklist, and tap the keyboard to get a full screen display. Go to Settings after you have finished your note and tap Sync so that your written project will now be available to you on the web and your computer. It's that simple to never be without important notes, projects or text again!

COOL CONCLUSION: "Microsoft OneNote is a super helpful tool to sync notes between home, the office and your mobile while away from home!"

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

Fun Stuff - Word of The Day: indie - This refers to an independent contractor or to a person or company that produces something without the help of an established corporation. For example, since an indie recording label isn't owned by a larger corporation, it does not have to adhere to the industry norms of a big record label

If you love mind-bending, brain-twisting and unique puzzles, you are sure to enjoy Geared, which is an amazing puzzle app. Geared provides you with the freedom of choice in making your moves, and every puzzle comes with an almost infinite array of choices. There are 150 great levels guaranteed to keep you challenged for hours. Can your intellect stand against 150 uniquely designed levels that are unique to this game? Some of the features of this puzzle game app are as follows:

This game is all about stacking the gears in precisely the right way. You don't have to be an engineer to appreciate the minute puzzle details. Just sit back, relax and put your wits to the test. Start creating some incredible moves to get these cool, hand-drawn gears rolling with the addicting Geared.

COOL CONCLUSION: "Power down the gears and solve the puzzles that may well boggle the most intellectual minds!"

Are you planning a trip any time soon? Or perhaps you're starting to think of a delightful summer vacation adventure? Let TripDeck-Travel Itinerary Manager help get your plans in order. TripDeck organizes your complete travel plans. Flip through the Rolodex-like Trip Cards for simple viewing of your itinerary. Get easy access to check-in times, confirmation numbers, gate info, baggage claim, notes, and all the other details you need to make your travel stress free. Turn over a Trip Card to see even more details, and tap it to edit items if you need. Some of the helpful features of TripDeck-Travel Itinerary Manager are as follows:

A truly useful feature of TripDeck is the TripIt integration. You may input details yourself or sync itineraries from the popular online travel planner, TripIt, which works with over 1,000 travel sites. Paid add-on features include: push notifications with real-time alerts on your flight changes, beautiful, zoomable flight map to track your flights in real-time, and live flight stats including gate info, baggage claim info and more. TripDeck has a sleek, polished interface with super easy navigation. In fact, you can get directions with just one tap which makes this app a great convenience.

You might be one of those artists that make objets d'art using all sorts of scrap metal, bottles, paper, fabrics or otherwise. Have you ever seen some of the amazing artwork to come out of such unusual creations? If you don't have tons of scrap pieces around to create your own styled model, try playing with BeCreative on your iDevice! You are provided with several boxes of all types of scrap pieces of an eclectic assortment so that you can create your own artistic model.

This artistic app is for all ages because you can make your artwork as simple or as complicated as you please. Your finished creations may represent something as simple as a boat or train, or as complicated as a coat of arms. The graphics are high-def, beautifully presented and a pleasure to play with (even more so when you realize there will be no mess to clean up afterwards)! Choose from a variety of backgrounds on which to place your objets d'art.

BeCreative is a remarkable level of interactive entertainment, brilliantly developing your child’s and your own mind and imagination. The beauty of this game is in its spatial relationships by placing objects in countless variations to make many different creations. Some of the enjoyable features of this app are as follows:

- Build and create unique images in a horizontal or vertical mode.
- Choose from 40 unique and sleek HQ backgrounds created especially for the game’s iPad version.
- Explore and use 14 BOXES filled with interesting objects (more than 65 objects) that can be used in countless combinations when creating your image.
- SAVE and/or LOAD your WORK PROGRESS allows you to go back to your saved image and perfect it even more.
- You can save your image in the iPhoto Library or send it as an email.
- Use the sample image gallery to inspire you and unlock your imagination.
- Undo/Redo for movement, rotation or scaling of objects up to 10x.

Now's the time to show off your BeCreative masterpieces and unleash your inner artist. You'll be amazed at what you can fashion with bits and pieces of regular household items. Choose your background, select countless objects, play music, and create unique images you can instantly share with your friends.

COOL CONCLUSION: "BeCreative is a unique and entertaining game that lets you bring your ideas to life in creating an item of beauty from a myriad of objects and colors."

Every new year we make resolutions of all sorts. We'll try to be more punctual in arriving at appointments, spend more time with the kids, exercise more, and eat healthier, just to name a few thoughtful goals. You can eat healthier by selecting fresh, delicious salad ingredients to whip up a tasty bowlful for lunch or dinner. Salads-Super Cookbook contains wonderful recipes beginning with great originals like Caesar Salad, to unusual, exotic concoctions.

Additionally, it's not always a great idea to eat a big meal late at night when you get home from work. Why not try pulling together some tasty and healthful veggies and fruits to make a great salad? You can even throw in various meats if you choose, all using the delicious recipes of Salads-Super Cookbook. These meals are quick and easy to prepare and will keep you fit and healthy. Use ingredients that all members of the family enjoy, or make variations of the same salad adding or deleting items to suit everyone.

The helpful part comes in where each recipe can be saved to your Favorites, or e-mailed to friends or family. Read up on useful preparation tips, where to buy salad spinner equipment, ideas on cooking and preparing your meals, plus lots more useful information.

COOL CONCLUSION: "Salads-Super Cookbook is a fantastic way to start off the new year because eating right makes you feel good and perform at a higher level all day long."

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

Fun Stuff - Word of The Day: cuckoo song - A "cuckoo egg" is an edited MP3 file that appears to be a copyright protected song being distributed via the Internet without the permission of the copyright owner. The initial portion of the song (first 30 seconds or so) will be

You know how it is when you're in a hurry, or typing under the desk at work trying not to be seen during an important meeting. It's important to send out a certain message to a family member or friend, but you can't waste one extra second doing so. Not only that, but there are also some messages you send more than others. Sometimes your life is just repetitive that way. Perhaps you want to tell a friend, “I’m running late,” “Meeting cancelled,” or “Remember to buy the beer!” Save lots of time and effort by using TypeLess to send quick notes using templates of commonly-sent email messages complete with subject, message and recipients. Some of the features of this helpful and time saving email app are as follows:

• Create message templates based on your most-frequently sent emails
• Order the templates yourself, put the most frequently used messages at the top
• Customize subject line, body and descriptions
• Compatible with your iPhone address book

What sort of tasks can you accomplish with TypeLess?

• Keep people up to date with your status, or your current location.
• Hear about a great band or movie? Remind yourself with a quick email.
• Used up the last of the milk? Don’t forget – get an email reminder!
• Getting the gang together on a Friday? Go to your usual spot with a quick shout-out.

These are only just a few of the types of things you can do with TypeLess. Forget about typos, copying and pasting and wasting time. Just use your personalized, ready-made templates and you're good to go with your e-mail.

COOL CONCLUSION: "TypeLess is a real time-saver and so easy to use when you only have a couple minutes to send out communications that are critical to you."

Looking for a relaxing game to take your mind off your troubles or work? You might find Flying Chicks just the ticket. In this addicting game, the 7 chicks just can't keep still and are moving in every which direction always up to tricks. Instead of being bored, they spend their time playing one game after another. Even the quiet and busy beavers love to watch these excitable chicks.

You will see the chicks jump and fly. Watch them land on the trees, plummet to the ground and end up on the river bank. Enjoy their funny antics and work on building up your scores and achievements on the leaderboards.

COOL CONCLUSION: "Flying Chicks will entertain, amuse and challenge you with sharp, clear images and lots of silly games."

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

Fun Stuff - Word of The Day: truncate - To shorten by cutting the end off. An example of this in computer terms would be the rounding of floating-point numbers, such as a program may "truncate" the value of pi (3.14159265&) to 3.14. Notice that truncation will always round the number down. The number 1.5999 becomes 1.5, never 1.6.

With retina display, you can really make your photos and screen displays sizzle. Even an ordinary picture has a tendency now to stand out in high-def form to catch your eye. Wallpaper Factory for Retina Display offers you glittering wallpapers optimized for iPhone4 with high quality and superb resolution. Take a look at an awesome collection of 1 million plus papers, then change your home and lock screen designs every day if you wish! Here's some of the useful and catchy features of Wallpaper Factory:

- Best of limitless collection, with more than 100 categories
- A lot of astonishing, comprehensible and high resolute pictures
- Very easy navigation- swipe, zoom, and pinch
- Updated regularly by User and Content management team
- Super fast-loading
- Select your favorite one & save it
- Add to contact and share it
- Rating facilities are included with other more attractive features
- Outward show available with popular, recent, random options
- Unlimited Download
- All the pictures are stored on multiple servers for the most favorable performance of the Wallpaper Factory
- Uploading Facility for the user with ‘Upload from Library’ and ‘Upload from Camera’.

With so many categories offered, you'll be sure to find several to suit your moods for a quite a while. There is a pleasant UI interface that makes navigation quite easy with this wallpaper app. The app is quite large so be prepared for a little extra time in downloading. Don't worry, the glossy papers will more than make up for it.

Nowadays, a majority of critical business transactions take place electronically. We are a world trying to go green, and one of the best ways to do so is in doing away with paper transactions. You can use RPost Registered Email Services to conduct your business email securely online. Some of the features of this email business app are as follows:

- Obtain e-signatures on contracts.
- Prove who said what to whom and when, by email.
- Prove delivery of time-dependent email notices.
- Ensure privacy with email encryption.
- Store and manage important PDF files

Additionally, some services included are:

- Registered Email Service: Standard email leaves you exposed to disputes and challenges around who said what, to whom and when. Registered Email messages return a certified email record of delivery, content and official time that can serve as court-admissible, irrefutable proof of your email correspondence.

- Electronic Signature: Use your finger to sign contracts on screen, time-stamp, and render the contract tamper detectable for valid legal records of contract signature, time of signing, and content.

This is about as secure and convenient as it gets. If you didn't know, RPost’s core Registered E-mail® service provides the sender legally valid and court-admissible evidence of e-mail correspondence occurring from the sender’s desktop e-mail to the recipient. RPost returns to the sender in the form of a verifiable Registered Receipt™ e-mail, evidence of official time sent and received as well as content (message body and attachments) of any e-mail, without requiring the recipient to download any software, click links, or visit special websites to open and read messages. RPost customers use Registered Email services as a lower cost and more effective alternative to receipt-mail, overnight letter courier, postal service certified/registered mail, fax, and email. This just about sums up what every company or business should utilize in their everyday communications.

COOL CONCLUSION: "Use RPost Email Services to competently take care of your communication and business needs so at the end of the day you have peace of mind in secure transactions!"

--Date/Version: Released 1/22/11 - Version 1.1--iOS/Age Rating: This app requires iOS 3.2 or later. iOS 4.0 Tested. Rated 4+.--Special Note: RPost has set the global standard for proof, privacy, and e-signatures with its flagship Registered Email® delivery proof, eSignOff® electronic signature, and SecuRmail™ encrypted email services which permit the sender and recipient to prove, sign, secure, record and collaborate with far less cost, time, paper and risk. --Device: iPad--Developer Link:RPost International Limited

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

Fun Stuff - Word of The Day: magic lantern - Code name for the FBI's plan to send encryption-key and password-sniffing spyware disguised as email attachments to a suspect's computer. As seen in Wired from MSNBC: "Magic lantern installs so-called keylogging software on a suspect's machine that is capable of capturing keystrokes typed on a computer."

January 22, 2011

Got a few minutes? Catch up on the current Tech & iPhone News. Also, see Breaking iPhone News on the home page in the right sidebar. If you're looking for more great apps to fill up your phone, check out the FREE App of the Day below.

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